Henson, Hockaday Blast Cyclones Past Missouri

Saturday, October 25

Ames, Iowa

2:00 PM

Iowa State

Missouri

Henson, Hockaday Blast Cyclones Past Missouri

10.25.2008 | Volleyball

By: cyclones.com

AMES, Iowa ? Victoria Henson had 15 kills and Rachel Hockaday added 12 as Iowa State hit .256 and held Missouri to a .098 hitting percentage to sweep the Tigers, 3-0 (25-18, 25-15, 25-20), on Homecoming at Hilton Coliseum Saturday. Henson and Hockaday hit .346 and .314, respectively, in the contest.

The win avenged an earlier five-set loss at Missouri. In that contest, ISU hit just .165 while Missouri hit .259. Iowa State head coach Christy Johnson, who recorded her 70th win at ISU in the match, was pleased with the improved play and the aggressiveness showed by her team today.

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“We knew we played really awful down there, probably the worst match we played all year,” Johnson said. “We felt if we just executed a good game plan and played well that at least we'd be able to make it a great match.”

The Cyclones (14-8, 6-5 Big 12), did just that as the defense stepped up in the match, recording seven blocks and 58 digs on the way to holding the Tigers (10-11, 4-7) to their lowest hitting percentage hitting percentage in Big 12 play. The Tigers were previously held to a .111 hitting percentage at third-ranked Texas.

Kelsey Petersen and Jen Malcom had four block assists while Debbie Stadick added three in the match. Johnson credited Petersen and Stadick as an important factor in the team's improved blocking lately.

“I think Kelsey and Deb make attackers think, because they are so big and their hands are in the attackers face and they make attackers make different decisions by making them tentative,” Johnson said. “Even if they don't always block the ball, they are changing the attacker's decisions. They are so athletic. They are kind of the ideal volleyball athlete.”

Ashley Mass paced the Cyclones with 16 digs, outdoing Missouri's Caitlyn Vann, who entered the match just behind Mass in digs. Vann finished with 15 digs to lead the Tigers.

Kaylee Manns posted her 43rd career double-double with 32 assists and 15 digs. Amy Vos and Hockaday finished with nine digs each as the Cyclones outdug their 19th opponent in 22 matches.

In the first set, the teams bounced back-and-forth until ISU scored six straight to go on top 18-11. The Cyclones got five kills from Hockaday and seven digs from Manns in the first set to win 25-18.

Set two was all ISU as the home squad blistered the ball at a .400 clip while blocking three balls and holding Mssouri to a .032 hitting percentage. Henson had eight second-set kills and ISU cruised to a 25-15 win.

In the final set, Missouri trailed by just two at 15-13 before the Cyclones used a pair of small runs to push its lead to 21-15. Following two straight points from Missouri, Julianna Klein missed on a serve and Malcom put away her eighth kill of the match to make it 23-17. The Tigers against closed the gap, this time to three points (23-20), but Henson blasted a kill and Stadick sealed the sweep with her fifth kill to give ISU the 25-20 win.

Missouri was led by seven kills each from Wiewen Wang and Catie Wilson.

The Cyclones will stay home for a Wednesday match against Baylor. The Bears are currently fourth in the Big 12, just ahead of the Cyclones. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum.